Press Notice No 12, Session 2003 - 04

FURTHER EVIDENCE SESSION:

Migration and Development

The International Development Committee agreed to conduct an inquiry - announced in a press notice dated 3 July 2003 (PN37.2002/03) - on Migration and Development. The Committee is pleased to announce that the following evidence session has now been arranged:

Date and venue -Monday 1st March, Palace of Westminster

Time -2.30 p.m.

Witnesses - Mr Joseph Chamie, Director, United Nations Population Division; Mr Jan de Wilde, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM) London; and Mr Frank Laczko, Chief of Research and Publications, International Organization for Migration, (IOM) Geneva

Those wishing to attend these evidence sessions should contact the Committee Office Information Line on 020 7219 2033 to confirm the venue the day before the hearing.

The inquiry is focussed on three key questions. These are:

 What is the nature of the relationship between migration and development (specifically, poverty reduction), and what determines the nature of this relationship?

 What can and should the UK and its partners in international development do to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks and costs of migration for poor people, developing and transition countries?

 How coherent is UK and EU migration policy with policy on other development-related matters and how might a more holistic and longer-term approach to migration be beneficial to the UK and its development partners?

In order to address these questions, the Committee’s inquiry will examine a range of issues including: aid, development strategies and migration management; remittances; labour markets; the return of skilled migrants; mobilising diasporas and transnational networks; and, migrants’ rights, asylum and refugee protection.

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To date, the Committee has held four oral evidence sessions as part of this inquiry. The transcripts from the first three sessions can be found at the following website address: